The BJP Manifesto – “Namma Karnatakakke Namma Vachana”

May 8, 2018

Karnataka Assembly Elections are just four days away. Though opinion polls have predicted a hung assembly in the poll-bound state, the major political parties are campaigning with full fervor, leaving no-stone unturned to ensure victory. One of the major political parties contesting in the elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party, is also campaigning vigorously in Karnataka to open a gateway to the south. The party has recently released its manifesto with a plethora of promises. The manifesto of the BJP contains sixty-four pages and provides great details of the vision of the party for the poll-bound state while focusing on farmers, women, youth, and students.

Given below are strong highlights from the manifesto-

For farmers: The welfare of farmers has been prioritized in the BJP manifesto. Crop loan waiver of up to one lakh rupees is promised for the farmers including all loans for nationalized banks. As per the manifesto, the farmers would be sent to countries like Israel and China every year to study the best practices in agriculture. To safeguard the farmers against the effect of price fluctuations while selling and buying crops, a Rupees 5,000 crore fund of “Raitha Bandhu Market Intervention” would be launched, if the BJP comes to power. According to the manifesto, the “Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation Bill 2012” would be re-introduced and The Gau Seva Aayoga will be re-established by B S Yeddyurappa.

For youth: The BJP wants to work for the betterment of youth and to fulfill the purpose the party will launch skill specific certification course centers across every district in the state. There will be a special focus on sectors like e-commerce and last mile delivery solutions. To eradicate the problem of unemployment, the party wants to ensure availability of quality work opportunities through skill development, self-employment, and job creation. BJP also aims to upgrade all the employment exchanges in the state so that job seekers may find appropriate jobs. It also wants to provide training in basic computer skills, language and other soft skills to the youth for better employment opportunities.

Sports: Sports is given special importance in the manifesto of the BJP. Special Sports Scholarship will be provided to the students pursuing higher education in sports. 5 world-class sports centers with hostel facility will be built in Hubballi, Shivamogga, Malpe, Koppal, and Chamarajanagar. The manifesto also speaks about establishing a university named “Field Marshal Cariappa Sports University” in Kodagu which will provide training in various kinds of sports disciplines. The university will also have a school of sports medicine. Other facilities like athletic tracks and swimming pools will be provided in every taluk of the state.

Women Empowerment: For women empowerment, the BJP will establish a special investigation cell in which thousand police women will be employed and investigate about all pending cases on crimes against women. Free sanitary napkins will be given to the BPL women and girl students under the new “Stree Suvidha Scheme”. The BPL women will also be provided with three-gram gold thaali and 25,000 for marriage under “Vivaha Mangala Yojane”. A one-time cash reward of Rupees 500 on passing class 8th, Rupees 750 on passing class 9th and Rupees 1000 on passing class 10th will also be provided to SC and ST students.

Development of Bengaluru: The party aims at making Bengaluru a world-class city with diverse opportunities, and modern infrastructure. As stated in the manifesto, if the BJP comes to power, it will make Bengaluru a zero garbage city. The party is also committed to double the fleet of BTMC. Bengaluru Metro will be extended to all suburbs in a phased manner to enable a structured expansion of the city. An amount of Rs 2,500 crore is reserved for lake rejuvenation in the capital city.

Economic and industrial growth: To revive the economic and the industrial growth across the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party is going to give 2500 crore rupees for the development of tourism. “Special tourism zones will also be developed in Karnataka to promote diverse tourism models such as wellness tourism, coastal tourism, nature tourism, food tourism, heritage tourism and temple tourism. The party will also introduce the “Sir M. Visvesvaraya Udyoga Scheme” to focus on the generation of new jobs in labor-intensive industries of Karnataka after coming to power.

Health: The party has declared people’s health as its priority and has committed to establishing “AYUSH Health Centres” in all taluk hospitals. BJP is going to set up two “Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences” for the welfare of the people. A scheme named “Ayushman Karnataka Scheme” will be launched for the poor and will provide a cover of five lakh for treatment. The number of ambulances will also be increased in the state.

The manifesto of the BJP has tried to focus on the basic problems faced by the people of Karnataka. The party has provided the details of the changes it will be bringing to the table if it returns to power after the anticipated assembly elections which are scheduled to be held on May 12.